September 02 2005

King Gyanendra has ordered the authorities to implement the decision of transferring the regional offices of mid-western region to Surkhet within three months. Instructing the zonal and regional officials at the Zonal Administration Office in Kohalpur of Banke, the King warned of departmental action in case the offices are not transferred within that time. Local people had complained to the King that the decision to transfer the regional offices had not been implemented yet. The King had promised to transfer the offices from Nepalgunj to Surkhet during his previous visit to the region one and a half years ago. Earlier, during his visit to Tulsipur of Dang district on Thursday (August 25), King Gyanendra has said that study will be conducted to develop Dang as Special Economic Zone. While giving instructions to the nominated officials, King Gyanendra talked at length about the objectives of the February 1 royal action. According to the King, the February 1 move had tried to give mainly two messages. One message being the total rejection of terrorism and another being the need to strengthen mature democracy. The King said that despite claims of ‘base areas’ by the terrorists, ‘there is not a single place within the country where the security forces cannot go.’ The King also expressed concern over the ongoing protests in Kathmandu . He termed the protests as ‘inappropriate and unsocial.’ In his visit to Jumla, King Gyanendra expressed his belief that the Maoists will come back to the national mainstream if they are committed to patriotism and nationalism. He informed that the state will pursue the policy of both ‘luring and/or dividing’ them to achieve that objective. He said this while giving instructions to the nominated presidents and vice presidents of District Development Committees (DDCs) of Karnali zone after he arrived to Jumla in a visit to mid-western region. The King also instructed the officials to embrace ‘full and mature democracy.’ Leading dailies report.

Six Passengers Killed In Kapilvastu

Six passengers lost their lives while trying to remove roadblocks placed by the Maoists in Bankasa area near Kapilvastu of East West Highway on Saturday (August 27). The Maoists who had announced bandh in Kapilvastu had felled down dozens of trees and placed them in highway to block the movement in Bhalubang-Chandrauta section. The six passengers were trying to remove the roadblock after the end of the two-day bandh when it exploded killing six and injuring seven others. Leading dailies report.

Deuba And Singh Challenge RCCC In SC

Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former minister Prakash Man Singh have filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the verdict of the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) and requesting its dissolution. Deuba and Singh are currently imprisoned by the RCCC, which found them guilty of corruption in Melamchi Drinking Water Project. The RCCC has come under wrath from civil society, political parties and even international community for its arbitrary decision. They have criticized the RCCC as it is acting as prosecutor, investigator and decision-maker all by itself. Deuba and Singh have called into question the constitutional legitimacy of the RCCC. In another development, the RCCC has issued a 24-hour notice summoning former minister and Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) leader Bhim Rawal charging him of corruption in the deal of leasing an aircraft six years ago during his tenure as Civil Aviation Minister. The RCCC claims that Rawal committed irregularities worth millions of rupees by changing the earlier agreement of leasing the aircraft of China South West Airlines from $2800 per flying hour to $3100. The same case had already been settled by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which had given Rawal a clean chit. Leading dailies report.

Martin Hits Out At Discriminatory Laws

The representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal , Ian Martin, said discriminatory legislation in Nepal is barring the indigenous people from carrying out their traditional activities. Speaking at a two-day conference on “Restructuring of the State and Indigenous People” organized by the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) in Kathmandu on Sunday (August 28), Martin said, “The UN’s special rapporteur (Rodolfo Stavenhagen) cited Nepal as a country where national laws maintain alienation and exclusion of the indigenous people from the judicial system.” He quoted the special rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people as saying that the constitution of Nepal declares the country to be a Hindu Kingdom and Nepali the official language, but there s no recognition of the indigenous people and discriminatory legislation prohibits them from carrying out their own traditional activities like hunting and fishing. They are not allowed to express their cultural identity, he said. At the program, a proposal for restructuring the state’s policies prepared by Malla K Sundar, Dr. Keshav Man Shakya and Arjun Limbu on behalf of the NEFIN, was presented in the meeting. According to the proposal, a 200-member constituent assembly that constituted 10 percent of the members nominated by the King, 50 percent from the Indigenous Nationalities, Dalit, Madhesis and other deprived communities and 40 percent from political parties should be formed. The participants made stringent criticisms against the proposal saying it lacked force. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

China Ready To Help Nepal In Its Transit Proposal

The ninth Inter Government Economic and Trade Committee (IGETC) meeting of Nepal and China has concluded in Beijing with both the sides expressing satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting. In the meeting, China expressed support and pledged positive assistance towards Nepal ’s proposal of acting as transit point between China and India . China acknowledged the importance of the transit point, according to the Ministry of Finance. Both the countries have considered upgrading the physical facilities at the customs points of Tatopani-Zhangmu and Rasuwagadhi-Jilong for the smooth flow of bilateral and international trade. In the meeting, Nepalese delegation was led by Finance Minister Madhukar SJB Rana and the Chinese delegation by vice minister for commerce An Min. China has also agreed to adopt positive measures to relieve the pressure of trade deficit against Nepal, noting the issue of increase trade imbalance. The Chinese side also gave nod to consider positively granting zero tariff facility to certain products of Nepali origin while exporting to China . Both the sides agreed to constitute an operational or core group committee represented by the director general/joint secretary level officials to address trade and investment-related issues. During the meeting, Nepal requested China ’s support on various proposals and projects including Baglung-Beni-Jomsom road, rehabilitation and upgrading of Sunkoshi Hydropower Station and technical and infrastructure development support for urban waste disposal based bio-mass energy production and distribution in densely populated cities like Kathmandu , Biratnagar and Pokhara. Nepal ’s other proposals included construction of King Gyanendra Film City Development Project, some arch bridges and support to north-south highway projects, and establishment of export promotion zones at Panchkhal and Nuwakot. The Chinese delegation positively responded to these proposals, the Ministry of Finance states. During the meeting, both the sides agreed to accelerate work on civil servants’ hospital, Syaphrubesi-Rasuwagadhi highway and Banepa Polytechnic Institute. The meeting also endorsed the Chinese technical team’s early visit to Nepal for Optical Fiber Cable, Kathmandu Outer Ring Road and the National Ayurveda Research and Training Institute Projects. The Chinese side also agreed to convey to the relevant authorities Nepal ’s request to permit Nepali airlines to operate flights to major Chinese cities and to operate charter flights from Nepal to Manasarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

UML Adopts ‘Democratic Republic’ Line

The ninth central committee meeting of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) concluded by deciding to go for ‘democratic republic’ through the election of a constituent assembly, and approved general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal ’s political report with suggestions. “The UML feels it necessary that the ongoing movement should be directed towards democratic republic to give multiparty democracy a complete shape, which is also the aspiration of the people and the party,” said a press statement issued by the party. On the issue of holding new general convention, the meeting decided to continue consultations over this issue in the coming days but concentrate on agitation at present. The party also gave high emphasis on the unity of seven political parties. Compiled from reports.

Ammo From Israel

The government has imported ammunition required by the army from Israel . Sources said that the ammunition arrived a few days ago. “A huge quantity of ammunition has arrived,” the source said. The ammunition will be used for M-16 and INSAS rifles. The source said that after India suspended military assistance since February 1, the ammunition had to be imported from Israel . Kantipur daily reports.

Minister Criticizes Kantipur

Government spokesperson and Information Minister Tanka Dhakal has criticized Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post for publishing ‘objectionable’ cartoon published on August 21. Dhakal said the government is considering taking legal action against publications for the cartoon, which, he said, ‘crossed the limit of media freedom, as it has defamed the monarchy to the lowest level.’ He did not elaborate on the nature of legal action against the newspapers. Addressing a press meet on Thursday (August 25), Minister Dhakal also took strong exception to ‘irresponsible speculations’ about the King’s visit to the UN. Dhakal said that it was not yet decided who will represent Nepal at the UN general assembly in September. Leading dailies report.

World Bank President Visits South Asian Nations, Skips Nepal

Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank wrapped up his weeklong visit to South Asian countries on Sunday. During his visit, Wolfowitz pledged assistance of $9 billion for the next three years to India and $4.5 billion to Pakistan . He also visited Bangladesh but did not commit any assistance to Bangladesh saying that the corruption was dragging on the country’s economy. In his first visit to South Asian region after being appointed the WB president, Wolfowitz visited India , Pakistan and Bangladesh but skipped the adjoining Nepal . After February 1, the WB has suspended budgetary assistance to Nepal . By skipping Nepal , Wolfowitz also indicated that WB assistance to Nepal could be affected in the days ahead. Earlier, the WB officials used to visit Nepal whenever they came to this region. Wolfowitz’s visit to this region has come at a time when the bank is preparing to downgrade Nepal from base case to lower case scenario. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.